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NWF State president describes repeated efforts to oust him (DOCUMENT)

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 05:23 PM.

NICEVILLE — Months of simmering rumors and speculation about the future of Northwest Florida State College President Ty Handy reached a boiling point Tuesday at the board of trustees meeting.

Reading a prepared statement, Handy informed the board that one of its members has been harassing him and threatening him to resign by July 1.

“In the early stages of these contacts, he said that I was ‘financially incompetent’; that I was an ‘incapable leader’; that I was wasting money on a new computer system; and that I was solely responsible for last July’s IT security breach and should have been ‘fired the day it happened,’” Handy said.

“He said that he was ‘building the case against me’ and my demise was imminent.”

Handy said the board member offered him other jobs and a buyout package if he resigned. Handy said he believes at least one of his employees was trying to “push me out internally” for the trustee.

During the frequent conversations on the topic the board member threatened physical violence to him and his family if he didn’t quit, Handy said.

Last week, Handy said the threats were expanded to promises of disrupting board meetings and college operations in general.

“I recognize that this statement documents behavior that challenges a sitting college board member,” Handy said. “I have been placed in a situation, however, where I must choose between passively supporting someone who clearly does not support me, versus actively supporting this entire board and college.”

He requested the board enlighten him if there were issues with his performance and let him know how he should interact with a board member threatening him or his family and handle any harassment in the future.

Moments after Handy completed his statement, newly elected Trustee Patrick Byrne asked to address the personal attacks made against him.

He immediately denied making any threats of physical violence, but didn’t deny he wanted Handy removed from the presidency.

“Dr. Handy, you were wrong,” Byrne said. “You are fanciful about many of the issues and you have taken the facts that didn’t occur and made a mountain out of a molehill over and over again.

“I regret your fancies. I take credit for the things I did, but I am not going to let his fancies have an effect on my performance as a board member.”

Byrne added that Handy wasn’t meeting the standards of excellence set by previous presidents and that he and people at the state level want to see him replaced.

He also apologized to Handy and his wife for any threats they might have perceived.

“At best, I misspoke, (but) I do not recall it,” Byrne said. “ … I sincerely apologize to you.”

When he finished speaking, Handy’s wife, Kim, asked to speak.

“Sir, I am a humble woman,” she told Byrne. “But I am not ignorant … You said it multiple times, with emphasis, and I can only say, sir, if it was a misspoken message — and I’m sorry, I’m just going to have to say this — if you are so easily to misspeak like that, are you truly a person who should be on a board to lead a college? I say shame on you.”

Before Byrne could respond, board Chairman Brian Pennington addressed the issue for the first time.

“We’ve got a lot of things to do, and if we’re going to behave like this it’s going to be hard,” Pennington said. “ … We had a great meeting up until now. We debated, we discussed and those things are proper.”

He chastised Byrne for acting outside the “bounds of normal conduct on a board” and then gave all board members the opportunity to make one statement on the matter.

“Something like this needed to come before the board,” Marijo Strauss said. “It is an absolutely appalling situation.”

She said she has never heard a negative comment about Handy’s performance in the community, and expressed concern that this would not be the last time the issue came up.

Paul Foster, who brought the issue to light by asking Handy to explain why he had previously applied for a position at Kentucky community college, didn’t mince his words.

“I will tell you Pat,” he said to Byrne. “If you love this college so much, you should resign.”

The three other newly elected board members — Brad Drake, C. Wayne Ansley and Mike Flynt — all suggested that the board move forward, especially in light of the fact they had renewed Handy’s contract for another three years earlier that night and recently gave him a positive performance review.

Rachel Gillis said she didn’t regret voting to hire Handy and stood beside the decision.

“For there to be strife in this board meeting just kills me,” she said. “This is not what we are supposed to be doing …. We besmirched this institution with all this craziness.”

After the trustees spoke, Handy said he stood beside all his statements. He offered to submit to a polygraph test along with his wife.

The meeting ended abruptly, but Handy said he was pleased with the outcome.

“I’m excited and I look forward to a fresh start,” he said. “ … As long as we’re able to start fresh, I want to spend the rest of my career here.”

Byrne reached out to Handy’s wife after the meeting and they shook hands. But he insisted he didn’t think Handy was qualified for the position.

“It’s a litany of things,” Byrne said when asked about his opinion. “I just feel he hasn’t met the standard.”

Byrne said he didn’t fill out the recent evaluation of Handy because he hadn’t been a board member long enough to do it properly. However, he said conversations with numerous current and former staff members convinced him Handy wasn’t right for the job.

As to the future, he said any differences of opinion can be professional.

“I’m prepared to do what is best for the college and that means working with Dr. Handy, if he’s president,” Byrne said.

NICEVILLE — Months of simmering rumors and speculation about the future of Northwest Florida State College President Ty Handy reached a boiling point Tuesday at the board of trustees meeting.

Reading a prepared statement, Handy informed the board that one of its members has been harassing him and threatening him to resign by July 1.

“In the early stages of these contacts, he said that I was ‘financially incompetent’; that I was an ‘incapable leader’; that I was wasting money on a new computer system; and that I was solely responsible for last July’s IT security breach and should have been ‘fired the day it happened,’” Handy said.

“He said that he was ‘building the case against me’ and my demise was imminent.”

Handy said the board member offered him other jobs and a buyout package if he resigned. Handy said he believes at least one of his employees was trying to “push me out internally” for the trustee.

During the frequent conversations on the topic the board member threatened physical violence to him and his family if he didn’t quit, Handy said.

Last week, Handy said the threats were expanded to promises of disrupting board meetings and college operations in general.

“I recognize that this statement documents behavior that challenges a sitting college board member,” Handy said. “I have been placed in a situation, however, where I must choose between passively supporting someone who clearly does not support me, versus actively supporting this entire board and college.”

He requested the board enlighten him if there were issues with his performance and let him know how he should interact with a board member threatening him or his family and handle any harassment in the future.

Moments after Handy completed his statement, newly elected Trustee Patrick Byrne asked to address the personal attacks made against him.

He immediately denied making any threats of physical violence, but didn’t deny he wanted Handy removed from the presidency.

“Dr. Handy, you were wrong,” Byrne said. “You are fanciful about many of the issues and you have taken the facts that didn’t occur and made a mountain out of a molehill over and over again.

“I regret your fancies. I take credit for the things I did, but I am not going to let his fancies have an effect on my performance as a board member.”

Byrne added that Handy wasn’t meeting the standards of excellence set by previous presidents and that he and people at the state level want to see him replaced.

He also apologized to Handy and his wife for any threats they might have perceived.

“At best, I misspoke, (but) I do not recall it,” Byrne said. “ … I sincerely apologize to you.”

When he finished speaking, Handy’s wife, Kim, asked to speak.

“Sir, I am a humble woman,” she told Byrne. “But I am not ignorant … You said it multiple times, with emphasis, and I can only say, sir, if it was a misspoken message — and I’m sorry, I’m just going to have to say this — if you are so easily to misspeak like that, are you truly a person who should be on a board to lead a college? I say shame on you.”

Before Byrne could respond, board Chairman Brian Pennington addressed the issue for the first time.

“We’ve got a lot of things to do, and if we’re going to behave like this it’s going to be hard,” Pennington said. “ … We had a great meeting up until now. We debated, we discussed and those things are proper.”

He chastised Byrne for acting outside the “bounds of normal conduct on a board” and then gave all board members the opportunity to make one statement on the matter.

“Something like this needed to come before the board,” Marijo Strauss said. “It is an absolutely appalling situation.”

She said she has never heard a negative comment about Handy’s performance in the community, and expressed concern that this would not be the last time the issue came up.

Paul Foster, who brought the issue to light by asking Handy to explain why he had previously applied for a position at Kentucky community college, didn’t mince his words.

“I will tell you Pat,” he said to Byrne. “If you love this college so much, you should resign.”

The three other newly elected board members — Brad Drake, C. Wayne Ansley and Mike Flynt — all suggested that the board move forward, especially in light of the fact they had renewed Handy’s contract for another three years earlier that night and recently gave him a positive performance review.

Rachel Gillis said she didn’t regret voting to hire Handy and stood beside the decision.

“For there to be strife in this board meeting just kills me,” she said. “This is not what we are supposed to be doing …. We besmirched this institution with all this craziness.”

After the trustees spoke, Handy said he stood beside all his statements. He offered to submit to a polygraph test along with his wife.

The meeting ended abruptly, but Handy said he was pleased with the outcome.

“I’m excited and I look forward to a fresh start,” he said. “ … As long as we’re able to start fresh, I want to spend the rest of my career here.”

Byrne reached out to Handy’s wife after the meeting and they shook hands. But he insisted he didn’t think Handy was qualified for the position.

“It’s a litany of things,” Byrne said when asked about his opinion. “I just feel he hasn’t met the standard.”

Byrne said he didn’t fill out the recent evaluation of Handy because he hadn’t been a board member long enough to do it properly. However, he said conversations with numerous current and former staff members convinced him Handy wasn’t right for the job.

As to the future, he said any differences of opinion can be professional.

“I’m prepared to do what is best for the college and that means working with Dr. Handy, if he’s president,” Byrne said.